The Fox and Snake
by tohrment.dragonseeker
Summary: Naruto returns after three years of being on the road after being rejected by the woman he loves. Will his return be something for the better or will it turn out for the worse? Rated M for language and possible adult-related themes.
1. Chapter 1: Naruto's Return

AU Note: This will not be a canon story, but it will keep the personalities as best as possible.

Ages: Naruto is around 21 years old, Anko is around 23. Sasuke and co are all 19-21.

Likewise, this will not be a very long story, possibly about 5-10 chapters. Hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless. Also, I don't own Naruto.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Naruto's Return**

It has been four years since the First Great Konoha War. A very specific long, blonde-haired ninja was walking on the main track back to his hidden village. He was wearing a black hooded cloak that had the Uzumaki clan symbol on the back in orange and orange flames at the bottom. Underneath the cloak he wore a black shirt with orange flames at the bottom, black loose pants, and a pair of black open-toed ninja was none other than Konoha's Orange Shadow, Sannin Naruto Uzumaki.

" **First time in three years since we've been back here kit."** A large fox-like creature said from inside Naruto's mind.

" _Yeah, but I need to turn in these bounties, reports, and have my weapons resharpened. After that, we'll head back out. Maybe visit Uzushiogakure again, see if we can open more locked buildings."_ Naruto thought.

" **You going to try to patch things over with... her... before you leave again?"**

" _Really, Kurama? I thought we went over this before, we don't talk about... her. And no, I'm not going to try. She's the one who turned her back on me. If she wanted to fix whatever was wrong, she should have done it already."_ Naruto spat out, his anger rising as was his disappointment. Her... the woman he loved and the woman he THOUGHT loved him back. He ran a hand through his unruly hair before putting it into his pockets and walking through the gates of the hidden village of Konoha. He stood right inside the gates, waiting for ANBU to pick him up. He didn't have to, but it was customary for them to do so, especially after the war. Sighing, the blonde naturally thought back to the war.

 **FLASHBACK**

Naruto stood at the front of the gates, red and white sword in hand, in front of a group of thirty Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri ninjas. "You guys ready to give up, or you thirsty for more?" The group of thirty ninja rushed him, threw jutsu at him, and everything else in order to kill him as their goal was to get into the city. They could have just gone through some of the holes in the walls, but they also needed to kill the blonde shinobi, once he died.. the rest of Konoha would probably fall.

It had been a grueling six months of fighting and all sides lost plenty of decent shinobi. The village of Konoha lay in ruins, buildings destroyed and collapsed, the dead bodies of shinobi and civilian alike littered the streets. However, the village of Konoha was still standing, a statement to the strength and resilience of the shinobi who lived there. Though, their forces were almost completely wiped out, and only about 500 shinobi remained on active duty, while another 200 were incapacitated or wounded. The enemy forces were just as bad, if not worse off. Konoha was renowned to have the largest shinobi force rivaling the five great villages, and were also renowned as being the most powerful. A testament that was proven true by a six month long war to destroy the village of Konoha, even the Land of Fire Daimyo was most impressed that his ninja forces could hold and push back against three of the great villages. It was the aftermath of the war that left the current Hokage, a silver-haired masked man, to implement new policies and training regiments for upcoming shinobi. One of which, anyone arriving through the gates would be greeted and searched by ANBU.

 **END FLASHBACK**

Naruto waited for about two minutes before a group of ANBU jumped in front of him and bowed their heads. "Naruto, pleasure. We assume you want to visit the Hokage?"

Naruto nodded his head, "Yeah, is he free?"

A bird masked ANBU spoke up, "Yeah, he's free. He's expecting you actually."

Naruto put his hands in his pockets and started walking towards the Hokage's tower. _"The place has changed a lot over the past six months. I wonder how everyone's doing."_ The blonde ninja turned his head as he heard his name being called from behind him.

"Naruto! Good to see you dobe. How's life on the outside? Any threats we need to prepare for?" A raven haired young man asked. Next to this man, was a pink haired woman holding a small child that cooed at every little thing she saw.

"Not that I know yet, Sasuke. How's the family coming? You seem pretty happy." Naruto asked his childhood friend as he held out a fist to bump him with.

Returning the fistbump, Sasuke sighs but replies, "It's been hard. Ever since most of the clan was wiped out in the war, the advisors have been trying to push some sort of polygamy program to increase pregnancies. Personally, I'll keep to Sakura alone. One woman is hard enough to handle." Sasuke grinned as he said this, knowing he was gonna get hit by his wife, Sakura.

"Don't be such a prude, Sasuke. Its not that I'm too difficult, it's more that I won't let another woman touch you." Sakura said, punching Sasuke in the arm lightly.

Naruto laughed and smiled at the interaction as he continued his walk to the Hokage's tower, his two Sannin friends beside him. "So how's everyone else been doing?" Naruto asked curiously, putting his hands behind his head as he walked.

Sasuke walked alongside his friend as he spoke, "Well, Hinata's become clan head and abolished the branch family garbage and got with Kiba, Shino opened up some sort of insect breeding grounds for his clan, Choji is training to become the next clan head, Shikamaru is the new tactical advisor to the Hokage since his father died in the war..."

Sakura chimed in at this point, "Ino married Itachi and they have three beautiful children, Tenten joined the medical corps and has been helping Neji with rehabilitation after he nearly killed himself to save Hinata. Lee is... well... Lee. Asuma and Kurenai had another kid, Guy's been placed as an advisor, Sai and Tenzo returned to the ANBU..."

Sasuke waved to some people as they waved at him. "Ichiraku has become widespread throughout Fire Country, and Anko has been..." Sasuke stopped suddenly as he felt a spike of chakra flash beside him, making him realize that Naruto wasn't there anymore, "unhappy..." he finished saying.

Sakura growled at her husband, "What's wrong with you?!"

"Oh come on! How the hell was I supposed to know Anko's still a touchy subject? Its been 3 years since he proposed to her and became a travelling Sannin!" Sasuke yelled at his wife, gaining the attention of passersby. "He should have gotten over it by now! It's not my fault that he's not letting go of the past and refusing to accept the truth."

"That doesn't mean you need to bring it up right when he gets back! Those pictures and her rejection was why he left in the first place, asshole!" Sakura spat back. "Now he's probably gonna leave again!"

Sasuke sighed as he started walking back to the Uchiha compound, still arguing with Sakura.

* * *

Anko was sitting in her apartment, holding a picture of her and Naruto, caressing his face gently and sighing to herself. _"Why did he leave? I just wanted three days to figure some things out. Thats all, three days and then he leaves for three years. What did I do wrong?"_ she thought to herself. She looked up and around her apartment, her eyes being drawn to multiple pictures of her and Naruto together in various places, in various types of attire. In one picture, there is Jiraiya, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and herself. She smiled to herself as she remembered that that was the day Naruto had been promoted to Sannin after a two day fight with Jiraiya and almost winning. They all shared a picture and threw a party, with herself and Naruto going back to her place for some after party fun. She sighed and stood up to get something to eat, which she had been having to force herself to do for the past three years.

 **FLASHBACK**

Anko and Naruto were hiking the Hokage Monuments one peaceful spring day to the top, because Naruto told her he wanted to do something special. They had been together for two years, fought alongside each other during the war with him saving her more times than not. Each time he saved her he would tell her, "You're not allowed to die on me. Not ever." They had been through so many trials and tribulations that she couldn't see herself with anyone but Naruto. As they got to the top, she smiled as they stood over the Fourth Hokage's head, Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze.

Naruto stood there and took Anko's hands in his, "Anko Mitarashi..."

"Yes, Naruto dear?" Anko replied, smiling at her boyfriend.

"We've been together for two years, fought alongside each other, defended each other, yelled at each other, cared for each other, and we've been through almost everything together. You are the most beautiful and amazing woman I have ever met or laid eyes on. You are an absolutely critical and important person in my life, and if I didn't have you, I'm not sure where I'd be or what I would do. You give me hope and you give me more of a reason to live than just this village..." Naruto paused and smiled at her, "So... Anko Mitarashi..." Naruto let go of Anko's hands and got onto one knee, activating a seal from his wrist which releases and reveals a ring of pure silver with a ruby in the middle of the ring with a fox on one side and a snake on the other, "Will you marry me?"

Anko stood there, shocked and surprised. Her entire body had gone numb and unresponsive. She wanted to say yes, but her mind was telling her no, and before she knew it, she blurted out, "I can't. I want to, but I can't. I need to think about this. I love you Naruto, but give me a few days. I want to make sure I'm prepared for this." She said, trying not to cry and throw her arms around him.

Naruto stood up and frowned, but nodded in understanding. "Alright, three days. I'll ask you again in three days." Naruto pulled her close and kissed her, even though she told him no.

Three days later she went to his apartment, but he wasn't there. So she started asking around and was told by Sasuke that Naruto had put in to become a travelling Sannin two days prior and left two days ago and that there he had to be back in three years.

 **END FLASHBACK**

She sighed and stood in the kitchen in front of her refrigerator when she suddenly felt a spike of chakra that she knew oh so well. "Its him... he's back." She threw the picture onto her bed and ran through her bedroom grabbing the sexiest and modest attire she could find. She found a bra that gives her breasts an ample amount of lift, not that she needed it being a D-cup. She wore a fishnet shirt over that and a black miniskirt with slits in the side to allow easier travel. She grabbed her fox necklace that Naruto had given her and the silver fox promise ring he'd given her as well and put them on. Looking into the mirror, she put her hair into a high ponytail, much the way Naruto always liked her having it and bolted out of the door, tracking his pulses of chakra. _"I need to see him, I need to set things straight. He's mine."_ She thought to herself as she reached the Hokage's tower and stood outside the door, waiting for Naruto to leave.

* * *

"I see. Take the prisoners you've managed to capture to Ibiki for interrogation and take the bountied shinobi to the bounty office then medical facility for autopsy." a silver-haired man wearing a half face mask said.

"Thanks, also, I'd like approval to take another extended absence from Konoha to visit Uzushiogakure, my home." Naruto requested.

"I'm sorry, but I can't authorize that. You've been gone for three years and while you might not have found or heard anything drastic, I'm going to have Shikamaru go through your reports for possible patterns and hidden issues. Plus you need to reclaim the Uzumaki Clan head title." the man said.

"Come on Kakashi, I need to go back to Uzu to see if I can find anything else of importance to my clan and heritage. Karin and Han have been handling the clans issues for three years now. Whats one more year?"Naruto asked his leader and friend.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I can't allow it. You've been gone too long and we need you here in case Iwa or Kumo decide to mount another attack on the village." Kakashi restated, putting more authority into his voice.

Naruto growled and bowed as he said, "Hai, Hokage." Not wanting to get into a further argument with the man.

"On a personal note, how have you been? Kakashi asked, leaning back in his chair as some shadow clones took the reports and paperwork out of the office, making sure he didn't reveal Anko's location right outside the door.

"Eh, I'm ok. Three years on the road can really drain you. Especially when you are constantly being targetted by bounty hunters and attacked in groups. I tend to do ok though." Naruto said as he shrugged his shoulders.

" **You're a terrible liar. I see you sit there every night and brush your snake charm."** Kurama said, laughing as he did so.

" _You're an asshole, Kurama. I told you, I don't want to talk about her."_ Naruto replied to his inner demon tenant.

" **You're going to have to talk about it at some point. You can't hide from her forever. She will track you down."** the demon fox answered.

" _Yeah right, we'll see about that."_ Naruto retorted before cutting off communication with his friend.

"Hmm. Alright, well I'm glad you are doing ok and made it back safely. You may leave." Kakashi said, noticing the way Naruto's eyes twitched when he spoke to how he was doing. _"You're a terrible liar Naruto."_

Naruto bowed once more and turned around, heading toward the door. As he opened the door, he was greeted with a sight he hadn't seen in three years. A sight that shown with magnificent beauty and terrible heartache. A sight that he has to admit was down right sexy and just the way he liked it. _"Damn it..."_

"We need to talk Naruto." Anko said, staring him straight in the eyes.

" **Told you, brat."**

* * *

 ** _AU: Reviews are always welcome. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll do my best to release more in a quick and timely manner._  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Is it worth it?

**Chapter 2: Is it worth it?**

"We need to talk Naruto." Anko said, staring him straight in the eyes.

"No, we don't." Naruto replied back quickly as he walked past her, wanting to leave her company quickly.

"Yes we do. I told you I wanted three days to answer and you were ok with it. I don't understand why you're so mad." she said, keeping up with his speed easily as he walked down the stairs.

"I told you, we don't need to talk about it." Naruto said, remembering the package he was given about a day after he had proposed to Anko. "You made your decision. So I left you alone." He walked out the front door to the Hokage's tower and ran a hand through his unruly blonde hair.

 **FLASHBACK**

Naruto was laying on his couch, smiling. He knew Anko was going to say yes in two days. He knew she loved him, so he was willing to wait the three days she asked for. He understood it well, it was scary to put your life into someone else's hands, let alone marry them. He stood up and heard shuffling outside his door and heard a brown folder being slid underneath his door. He walked over to the door and opened it up, but saw no one outside, before closing the door. Kneeling down, Naruto picked up the folder and opened it and his heart shattered from what he saw. The pictures showed Anko and Kotetsu in various places, doing various things from kissing to being in the bedroom together. _"So thats why she said no... there was someone else."_

" **Kit, don't be so quick to assume things. You have no idea who dropped off these pictures... they could be fakes. Why don't you confront her about it, find out the truth."** Kurama said, trying to calm down his friend.

" _I'm not going to ask her anything. Don't need to as they look pretty authentic to me."_ Naruto retorted, his anger rising as well as his heartache.

" **She's been with you for two years, by your side every step of the way. There is no way that vixen would betray you, especially considering her past."**

" _Doesn't matter, Kurama. I'm still not going to ask her. If she wants to be with someone else, she's more than welcome to be. She isn't mine, anymore."_

" **So you're going to give up on her just like that?"** Kurama growled. **"You humans are always so quick to jump to conclusions without thinking about all the possibilities first. Might be what makes you all so fickle and stupid."**

" _Fuck you too, Kurama."_ Naruto spat out in anger and he collected his things and walked out, leaving nothing behind and headed straight to the Hokage Tower.

 **END FLASHBACK**

"My decision?! I told you I wanted a few days! Do you know how scary it is to be asked to marry someone else when you aren't sure if you're ready or not?" Anko yelled at him, hoping he didn't disappear on her again.

Naruto spun around and yelled at her, "Yeah, actually I do! I was just as scared asking you to marry me as you probably were when I asked you! So don't you dare sit there and tell me that I wasn't scared or even try to insinuate that I couldn't be scared!" he watched her flinch from his actions, part of him feeling bad about it and part of him not really caring as he was still angry with her. He had never yelled at her, not once. Even when they were growing up together before they started dating, he never yelled at her. "Regardless of the situation, you still said no and you found someone else! So, that alone is enough of an answer to me!" Naruto spat out, the villagers watching him. "Now, if you'll excuse me Mitarashi, I have bounties to turn in, Ibiki to see, and I need to visit the medical corps. Take care of yourself." Naruto growled out before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

" **Little harsh on her, don't you think Naruto?"** Kurama asked his container, noticing how painful it was for Naruto to yell at Anko and walk away from her.

" _Maybe, but its for the best. If she leaves me alone, then I'll be fine. She has Kotetsu anyway."_ Naruto responded with as he walked into the bounty office.

" **You're still just as blind now as you were when you were a mere genin."** Kurama shook his head as he rested himself on his paws, drifting off to sleep.

Anko stood there, upset, shaking and crying. _"Someone else? There was never anyone else."_ Anko thought to herself as she wiped away her tears, even though more would spill. She turned around and started walking along the streets, aimlessly. He had never yelled at her before, never. She could be completely ridiculous, teasing, mean, cruel, sadistic, or anything she wanted and she'd never been yelled at by him. Even when she had been in the hospital from chakra exhaustion or from fighting more enemies than she could handle, he never yelled at her. However, this time... he yelled at her.

She wasn't sure where she was going, but she was just walking. After a few minutes, she felt someone walk along beside her. She turned her head to see who it was and it was her old friend Kotetsu. Every day he stopped by to make sure she was doing ok, give her some food, and just spend time with her. There were even plenty of times he had asked her out on a date and even tried to stay the night with her, but she wanted none of it. Her heart belonged to Naruto and Naruto alone.

"Hey Anko. Why the waterworks?" Kotetsu asked. Kotetsu was a man of lean build, mop of black hair and for some reason, always had bandages around the bridge of his nose.

"Its nothing, Kotetsu." Anko said, wrapping her arms around herself, unconsciously causing her breasts to be lifted by the movement. This action only spurred on Kotetsu's desire to be with her.

"Come on, Anko. Talk to me. I've been by your side for years. Ever since Naruto left, you've been nothing but a wreck. You haven't cried like this in a long while, so what's going on?" Kotetsu asked, wrapping an arm around her to pull her close.

Shrugging off his arm, she sighed. "Naruto came back." She admitted reluctantly, not realizing the momentary look of sadness and fear in his expression before she continued, "I tried to talk to him. I just wanted to know why he left. I wanted to know why he turned his back on me... on us... on everything we planned together." she said, as more tears spilled down her cheeks. She hated herself. She hated how much Naruto affected her on such an emotional level, not necessarily in a bad way, but just as how much he moved her. She was the kind of woman who would seduce a man or woman, break them, and then move on. She'd been through her fair share of relationships, but Naruto was different. Without Naruto, she could only see a future of missions, pointless relationships, and eventually a casket. With Naruto, she saw a family, a future, a house, and dare she say it... a happy life. She wanted that. No. She needed it.

"I see." Kotetsu said, putting the hand in his pocket as his arm was shrugged off. "Well, if Naruto doesn't realize the kind of gem he's lost, he's more of an idiot than we all realized." He looked at her and gave her a smile, trying to cheer her up. _"He'd better not screw this up for me."_

"He's not an idiot. Even if he was, you're not allowed to call him that, only I am." growled Anko as she walked aimlessly through the streets.

"Come on, lets go get something to eat. We can go get some dango... maybe get them to put some caramel toppings on top of it?" he offered, knowing she'd probably take the chance to eat her favorite food.

"Yeah... ok." Anko answered as she walked with Kotetsu into the dango shop. _"Why? Why was I not good enough? Who else did I find and what makes him think I found someone else?"_

"If you're feeling up to it, maybe we can go to one of the fancier restaurants tonight?" Kotetsu asked, once again trying to get her to go on a date with him.

"No thanks, Kotetsu. I appreciate the offer, but I need to figure out how to talk to Naruto." Anko said as she walked up to the shopkeeper. "Three large orders of dango with caramel toppings." she requested, not realizing that Kotetsu wanted to order for her. _"I wonder if Sakura and Sasuke would be able to help me."_

As Kotetsu paid for his dango, he walked and sat across from Anko. "I don't understand why you're so hung up on him," he began, "He proposed to you and then left you for three years. Seems to me that he stopped loving you and that you need to move on." He got no response from her and sighed, "Honestly Anko, you can be with any man you want. Hell, I would even love to be with you. Is he really worth this pain you're going through?" he took a bite of dango, after asking her, enjoying the flavor of it.

"I never once stopped loving him, Kotetsu. So yes, I think he's worth the pain. At the very least, I deserve some answers." she said as she grabbed the fox charm dangling around her neck, caressing the amethyst gem that sat at the maw of the fox. _"I need answers, even if I don't like what they are."_

* * *

Naruto walked into the Uzumaki compound and was greeted by a tight hug from Karin. "Welcome home, Naruto!" she greeted him.

"Nice to see you too, Karin. How's the clan been coming along?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and an orange, deciding to have a snack before going to his room to rest.

"Its been rough. We're only just 15 strong, but I've sent out Han with a few bodyguards to the last few locations of Uzu hideouts that were located in one of the scrolls you gave us. With any luck, we'll be larger when he gets back within a week or two." Karin said as she sat down in a chair across from him. "The Hokage wants you to reclaim the Clan head title. I've already received a scroll from the ANBU with the request." she was about to hand him the scroll until he put his hand up.

"Can it wait until tomorrow? I just got back, yelled at Anko, and I really just want to lay down and relax." Naruto threw away the orange peels and started sipping on his bottled water, hoping that the conversation would come to an end. Sadly though, he had no luck.

Karin perked up at the mention of Anko and saw the silver chain was still around his neck and assumed that it was the snake charm necklace she had gotten him. "How is she doing? She usually comes over every week and she seems pretty upset more times than not."

Shrugging, he replied casually, "No idea. I'm not going to give her a chance to explain anything. I proposed, she said no and moved on. What more is there to know? If she's not doing well, maybe she should speak to her boyfriend." he spat out with enough venom to kill a man.

"You ARE her boyfriend, Naruto. She never gave up on the relationship and she never gave up on you. Even when you were gone, she was always sending you letters. Did you not get them?" Karin said, angrily. She had become quite protective of Anko over the last few years and just wanted to see her happy. Though she's learned that the only way Anko would be happy was if she was married to Naruto. "You really should stop being so stubborn and talk to the woman."

"I am NOT her boyfriend, Karin! I was nothing more than a two year bump in the road for her. Besides, now that I'm back I can move on with my life. I've moved on, and so has she." Naruto said the last bit, lying through his teeth. "And yes, I got the letters from her. Every week. I never read a single one."

"What did you do with them?" Karin asked curiously. _"He had to have read them. Even he's not that cold-hearted... at least I don't think he is."_

"It doesn't matter what I did with them. Point is, I never read them. I didn't have a reason to read them as I was, again, moving on with my life, just as she had." Naruto was starting to get annoyed with this conversation, but he knew Karin wouldn't let it go.

"If you truly moved on, remove her necklace." Karin said, pushing her glasses up as she grinned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto lied.

"Bullshit. I saw the chain around your neck. If you truly have moved on, give it to me so I can throw it away." Karin stretched out her hand, knowing he wouldn't give up the necklace.

"I'm done with this conversation." He walked out of the kitchen, knowing Karin had won the verbal argument which only inflated her ego even more. "I'll be in my bedroom. Disturb me and I'll make sure you stay Clan head."

"Its okay. I know you still love her." Karin retorted quickly before leaving the house, always having to get the last word with him. _"I'm going to get them to talk if its the last thing I do."_ she thought to herself as she walked towards the Uchiha compound.

As he went into his room and closed the door behind him, he pulled the necklace out of his shirt and ran a finger across the ruby gem that sat in the snake's eye and sighed.

" **Why do you continue to torment yourself, Naruto?"** Kurama asked, stretching out his paws.

" _To remind myself to never let anyone in again. You know the hell I went through growing up. I thought I could finally trust someone enough to let them in completely and she goes and betrays me."_

Kurama sighed painfully. **"You know kit, being an eon old beast, I know what you're going through. I've had my own fair share of partners in the past..."**

" _The hell are you talking about Kurama? You're a giant fucking fox!"_ Naruto interrupted, continuously stroking the snake charm.

" **Interrupt me again, asshole, and I'll make sure you die a slow painful death from the inside out."** the demon fox growled out, as he sent highly concentrated chakra through Naruto's coils, making the young man collapse in momentary searing pain, before letting up on it. **"As I was saying, I've had my fair share of partners. I might be a demon fox to you, but I can revert into a human form when I am summoned or when I am free. However, I never had an issue with them leaving me. My issue was that I am an immortal being, so any woman I fell in love with eventually succumbed to the Shinigami. Ironically, the woman I loved most was Mito Uzumaki."**

" _Wait, I thought she was married to Hashirami Senju, the First Hokage?"_ Naruto asked, stunned.

" **On paper, yes. Not in heart. You see, Hashirama just wanted my power as some sort of childish dream of uniting the nations and keeping the peace between everyone. However, Mito just wanted to know me."** Kurama tapped the ground lightly inside Naruto's mindscape as a shrine came up depicting Mito in all her glory. **"Mito was a special kind of woman. With her skill in fuinjutsu, she figured out how to summon me outside of the seal without breaking it or requiring a summoning contract. We got along quite well and eventually, had a kid. The one you call Grandma."**

" _What the hell?! Tsunade is your child?!"_ Naruto asked, completely flabbergasted. He sat down on the floor, unsure how to take this new turn of information.

" **Quite. How else do you think she was able to obtain such monstrous strength, with obscenely high chakra reserves, and be able to heal unnaturally quick? She's my kid alright."** Kurama laughed, knowing that the only ones who knew the truth before were himself and the late Mito Uzumaki... and now he knew too. **"However, there is a reason why I'm still bound to the Uzumaki's. That very same reason is why no one else BUT an Uzumaki is able to contain me. Believe me, Konoha has tried and only ended in failure."** Kurama paused for a second and looked at the shrine of Mito,

" _If Hashirama knew about you and Mito, how come you didn't tell them that you could only be sealed into an Uzumaki?"_

" **Well, for one, Hashirama was dead long before Mito was even close. Mito was around 125 years old before she died. Which isn't really surprising as the Uzumaki's have an already enhanced longevity. Secondly, I did, but they wouldn't listen. In any case, I made a promise to her on her deathbed that I would stay loyal to only the Uzumaki's. So Mito, in all her undying wisdom and with all her remaining strength, placed a seal on me that only those of Uzumaki bloodline can contain me, which is where your mother and you come in."** Kurama signed and tapped his claw on the ground again, the shrine disappearing from sight. **"So, I understand your hurt, but believe me kit... its well worth the pain. After all, you're not an immortal like me."** Kurama said, cutting off contact as he laid his head on his paws, his ears receded and his maw turned into a frown as he began recalling memories of the past. _**"Damned fool doesn't know what he has and knowing him and how stubborn he is, won't know it until its gone."**_

Naruto sat on the floor for a few more minutes, mulling over Kurama's heartfelt story, while still rubbing the snake charm. He put the necklace back into his shirt and stood up, walking over to his bed and laid down on it, before turning to his side and looking at his favorite picture of Anko. She had just been promoted to full Jonin and they were giving each other a tender kiss. Sighing, he reached out towards the picture and pulled it, making it face downward so he didn't have to look at it anymore.

"You might be able to forgive and forget Kurama, but I can't do that. Not after giving her everything."

* * *

 **AN: As always, please leave a review. More reviews tend to get the chapters out faster. Enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3: Setup

**Chapter 3: Setup**

After finishing her dango, she left the shop and told Kotetsu she wanted to be left alone, which really was far from the truth. She was actually heading to the Uchiha compound to talk to Sakura and Sasuke. If anyone could help, it was those two. They were his team mates, all three were Sannin, and Sasuke was Naruto's best friend. Not really paying attention to where she was going, she ran into someone. As she looked up, she noticed it was her favorite red-headed, glasses-wearing friend. "Hey Karin." she spoke softly, almost dejectedly.

"Hey Anko. How are you holding up?" Karin asked, giving the purple haired woman a hug.

Anko shrugged. "I'm okay. I've had better days, but I'm ok." she said, returning the hug, before wrapping one arm around her side and the other to rest atop of it as she held her fox charm, rubbing it softly.

"You look dressed to impress this evening. Where are you headed off to?" the red-headed woman asked.

"I'm actually heading over to Sasuke's and Sakura's. I was hoping maybe they could get Naruto to talk to me. I tried to talk to him, but..." she trailed off, remembering how he had yelled at her.

"Funny that you mention them, I'm headed over there myself." she smiled, as the two started walking together towards the Uchiha Compound. "I spoke with Naruto. He still wears your snake charm."

Blinking in surprise, Anko nearly falters a step, "Really?!" She quickly grabs Karin by her shirt and pulls her close, staring her dead in the eyes. "Was he really wearing it?"

Karin did nothing but smile in return, "Really. He said that you had moved on and so had he. So I told him to prove it by giving me the charm and he stormed off." She knew that just that tidbit of information was going to give Anko more hope than anything else could.

"I haven't moved on. I don't even know why he left." Anko released Karin and continued walking with her. "All I know, is that when I went to see him in three days, he was gone. I didn't get a note, I didn't get a good bye, I didn't get anything. He was just... gone. I don't know what I did wrong." Anko started to cry as she walked.

Wrapping an arm around the woman, Karin sighed and walked with her, "Naruto is dense and stupid sometimes, but I'm sure there's some reason why he left." She was doing her best to console the crying shinobi. They walked on in silence for a little longer before stopping at Sasuke's and Sakura's door. "Look, lets talk to Sasuke and Sakura. Maybe they'll have something to say."

All Anko did was nod as she wiped away her tears and knocked on the door.

"In a minute!" came a feminine voice from inside the house. About a minute later, the door was opened revealing a pink-haired woman. "Anko! Karin! What brings you ladies over tonight?"

"Naruto." they both said at the same time.

"I see, come on in." Sakura stepped aside to allow the women in. "Have a seat in the living room. Sasuke and I will be with you in just a minute." she smiled and turned around and headed to the kitchen. Quietly, Sakura goes, "It's Karin and Anko, they wanna talk about Naruto."

"Ok, fine. Lets talk about the guy. He's being stupid about all of this." Sasuke whispered back, spreading his arms wide to show an exasperated situation. "He's doing all of this for some stupid falsified pictures. No way in hell would Anko let someone get a picture of her naked in bed with another man and no one is that skilled in stealth to even get close enough to take a picture of that clarity without being caught."

"You can't say anything about the pictures." Sakura warned.

"Why not? She needs to know?" Sasuke glared at his wife.

"Because, that's for Naruto to confront her about." the woman replied with as she prodded her husband in the chest.

"She's my friend too! And he's being absolutely stupid about all of this! He should know better!" Sasuke growled out quietly.

"He's a fucking idiot, Sasuke. You know that. It takes him some time to see through the simplest of things when it comes to matters of the heart. Look at how long it took him to realize that Anko fucking loved him!" she countered back. "Look, go upstairs and leave the girls to me. I think I have an idea to get this settled once and for all." Sakura smiled.

"Alright. But this plan of yours had better work." Sasuke said as he kissed his wife softly. "I love you Sakura. Thanks for never leaving my side."

"I love you too, Sasuke. And I never will." Sakura replied back, returning the kiss softly. "Now shoo. Its girl talk time." she grabbed a few cups, a kettle of hot water, some tea bags and placed them on a tray taking it with her into the front room, setting the tray down on the table. "Sasuke won't be joining us tonight. I guess he was tired and went to bed."

"That's fine." Anko said, keeping her arms wrapped around her body, sighing. "I have no idea what to do. Naruto thinks I've moved on, even said I found someone else. I know my past is sketchy, but I would never betray him like that. Why would he think that?"

Sakura knew the answer to that question, but it wasn't her place to say anything. That was a fight to be had between her and Naruto. She grabbed a few teabags and poured everyone some tea. "I'm not sure, but I'm sure there's a reason for it." she lied, keeping her facial expressions clear. "However, I was thinking about something that might be able to get you two to talk."

Karin took one of the tea cups and took a sip. "Anything we can help with?"

"I'll do anything so long as I can get some answers." Anko agreed, taking a teacup as well and taking a sip of it. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, every year we all get together for a party. Just to catch up on old times and talk." Sakura paused a moment, "I figure we can reserve Training Ground 34 and host a party there. With Naruto back, I'm fairly certain even Kakashi would come, even if he is the Hokage... maybe even Jiraiya and Tsunade." she smiled and leaned back against a plush pillow, relaxing.

"What's a party have to do with me and Naruto talking?" Anko asked, raising an eyebrow. "If he hasn't talked before now, he isn't going to talk then either." she sighed and looked down at her cup, merely looking at her reflection in the flavored water.

Karin looked at Sakura and assumed where she was going with this and why the training grounds, "You're going to have to force him to talk to you." she said simply. "You and I both know that Naruto can be rather dense, especially when it comes to emotions. Hell, you remember when Sakura had to all but tell him you were flirting with him, right?"

 **FLASHBACK**

Everyone was hanging out at the Uzumaki Compound playing some games and drinking. Anko was wearing the shortest skirt she had, the best push up bra she had, and the sexiest outfit for a top she had, which was practically a really tight camisole. She was not one for extravagance and preferred to be straight to the point, however, Naruto was completely dense. No matter what she wore, he never got the hint.

"I swear Anko, you wear less and less clothing every time you come over." Naruto said laughing, poking at her collarbone. "You really should do something about that before someone gets the wrong impression of you."

Sakura, Karin, Ino, and Hinata all just rolled their eyes, muttering silently, "Moron."

Kiba, Shino, Han, and Shikamaru put their heads in their heads, for multiple reasons. First, they were trying not to stare at Anko. Of all the single women in Konoha, she was the most desirable. Yet, here she was flaunting her body off as if it wasn't going to bother any of the men. Second, they were ashamed that a fellow male couldn't even see what she was doing. Third, they knew if they continued to watch this charade, they'd pass out from blood loss via nosebleeds due to just how seductive and teasing Anko has been. Sasuke, however, merely shook his head as he wrapped his arm around Sakura, before quietly speaking, "Dumbass."

Anko, not really caring what she heard because she agreed with them, all but purred against the blonde man, "What if I want them to get the wrong impression of me, hrm?" she teased, running a finger down her collarbone.

"I don't know then. I guess they'd just have to be careful." Naruto shrugged, completely oblivious to her flirting.

" _ **Ugh. You are the worst kit! Stop playing fucking stupid!"**_ Kurama growled out to himself. Even as an eon old beast, this vixen's flirting bordered on sadistic.

"You know Naruto, if you keep throwing these parties and you keep saying I wear less and less clothing, I might just show up wearing nothing but a trench coat. We both know I have one." she teased out, purring and rubbing against his sides.

That was it for the four single men as they all fell over, from blood loss at the idea of seeing Anko wearing nothing but a trench coat. Even Kurama groaned out, making Naruto shudder a little. Sasuke, however, just started laughing. The women completely facepalmed or went red in the face from blushing.

"Now now Anko, no need to come over in only a trench coat. Besides, it wouldn't be much fun if you were only in a trench coat. You wouldn't be able to enjoy any of the games." Naruto smiled at her.

"No fun, hrm? Would you prefer to undress me yourself, because I'm sure I'd enjoy plenty of games after that." she leaned up and bit his earlobe gently. "Plenty of games." she repeated, purring out the words that would normally make any man rip her clothes off.

Naruto blushed and asked, "What the hell are you playing at Anko?"

"Just you." was her simple reply.

"Huh?" Naruto was stunned and confused at that comment, not really sure how to react to that statement.

Sakura groaned and stood up walking over to Naruto and grabbed the back of his head. "I've had enough of this. She's flirting with you, dumbass!" She looked to Anko, "Just fucking kiss him already damn it!"

That was all that had to be said as Anko climbed into Naruto's lap and began kissing him, softly at first before getting more voracious and needy. Naruto was returning the kiss just as needingly as she was. After a minute they both took a breath for air, "You're dense, Naruto." she said, smiling as she turned herself around, staying in his lap as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. She looked at Sakura, "Thanks." Though all she got was a dismissive wave as the pink haired woman sat down beside Sasuke again. Anko was finally happy though, she got her blonde man.

 **END FLASHBACK**

"Yeah, I remember that night perfectly. It was the night Naruto and me first kissed, even if it was a bit on the forceful side." Anko grinned, taking another sip of her tea. "But how am I going to force Naruto to talk to me?"

Sakura chimed in at this point, "Well, that's why the party will be at the training grounds. You're going to have to fight him. Last I checked, you could use Earth style ninjutsu right?"

"Yeah. One of the three, but yeah." Anko answered. As a jonin, she was required to be able to use three elements at a certain point of mastery, though Earth was her primary element so it came easy for her.

"Ok, well... here's the plan. We'll all get together for the party, you'll be using a Henge as Hinata as she won't be in attendance, unless she comes back early from her mission. Once we know Naruto is there, you can drop the Henge. Once you are within a little distance of him, use your Earth Prison jutsu and force him to talk to you. As a Sannin, don't expect that to hold him though. After that, the fight will have started and he'll talk to you then. He always seems to communicate better in a fight. Though, what you do after the fight starts is up to you, but I don't think Naruto would try to hurt you, so expect just a taijutsu fight." Sakura finished, musing how that would go.

"Maybe a few kunai or senbon and a jutsu or two." Karin commented. "Just be prepared for anything, because he's going to be mad you're forcing his hand."

Anko sighed, "I don't want to hurt him guys, I just want to talk to him." She could only imagine how mad he's going to get if she uses her Earth Prison jutsu. He was never one for being held captive.

"You aren't going to hurt him, Anko." Sakura assured her. "For one, he's a Sannin. He might go easy on you and take some hits, but you aren't going to hurt him. For two, he has a really good healing rate, so even if you did hurt him, it wouldn't matter."

"Besides, you two have more than enough aggression to get out against each other, that no amount of sex will take care of." Karin commented, grinning.

Anko couldn't help but blush at that comment. "So when is the party going to happen?"

Sakura finished off her tea and smiled, "In three days, the sooner you two fight and talk this out, the sooner we can go to your wedding." she poured herself another cup of tea. _"May Kami have mercy on Kotetsu's soul if he shows up to that party."_

"I'll ask Kakashi about reserving Training Ground 34 in three days for the afternoon. Shouldn't be a huge deal. Then we can all go shopping for party food!" Karin stated, excited about another party.

"Thanks. You guys are the best." Anko said, hugging the two woman, happy knowing she was finally going to get the chance to talk to Naruto. "I don't know what I'd do without you two."

"Wallow in self-pity and shame." Sakura retorted.

"Never step foot outside your house again." Karin pointed out.

"Burn all your clothes." Sakura continued.

"Sacrilege!" Karin exclaimed, laughing.

Anko sighed and leaned back against the couch. "You two are bitches." she smiled and began laughing. The rest of the night was filled with girl talk and party planning.

* * *

Kotestu lay in bed that night, pondering about today's events. Naruto came back, yelled at Anko, walked away from her, and she even had lunch with him. Oh yes, things were looking up for him. He rolled onto his side and looked at a few pictures that sat on his bedside. One was of his team, himself, Izumo, and Anko with Orochimaru as their sensei. He wasn't sure what happened to his sensei, after the war he just disappeared. He looked onto another picture, it was Anko in a bikini on the beach with Karin and Sakura. They all looked beautiful, but Anko looked the best. Finally, he looked at the third picture of when Anko had just been promoted to Jonin rank, though this one was ripped in half so that he didn't have to look at Naruto holding her close to him.

" _That man...that demon.. that moron... stole Anko from me. Cool it Kotetsu, you'll get her in the end. You've already planted the seeds of their break up, now you just have to carefully harvest the prize at the end. Anko, my dear snake charmer, you will be mine."_ He grinned to himself at his carefully concocted plans. There was a benefit of being part of the messenger team. He was the one who sent out the mission scrolls and letters from messenger birds. Every week, Anko had came by to mail a letter to Naruto, and every week he would take it from her. However, after she left, he would break open the letter and read it, and then forged a new letter that he would send to Naruto instead. He actually became really good at forging her penmanship and her signature. Over the course of three years, he had forged and sent out hundreds of letters to him on Anko's behalf, and never once got a response back from him. Honestly, he didn't expect him to, not with the words he wrote anyway.

He stood up and walked over to his desk and opened the bottom drawer, picking up one of the many letters that he kept and opened it up,

 _My dearest Naruto,_

 _Its been three months since you've left and I get lonelier each day you're gone. I can barely eat, I can barely think, and the only reprieve I get is when I finally fall asleep after a week of exhaustion. I've been placed on the reservist list and been given a leave of absence from T &I for a little bit. Ibiki told me to come back once I'm feeling better. I don't know when that will be. Sakura and Karin do the best they can to cheer me up, but it doesn't help... I just miss you more._

 _Please, come back home. Come back to me. I miss you and I love you. And my answer is yes, my answer will always be yes. Just please come home. I need you, Naruto._

 _Your loving snake charmer,_

 _Anko Mitarashi_

Closing up the letter, he placed it back gently into the drawer. That particular letter made him mad because there was no mention of him in it. Then again, she never mentioned him in any of her letters to him. He punched the wall as those thoughts entered his head. He helped her too, spent so much time trying to make her feel better and he doesn't even get a mention. Granted, she did reject his help more times than he could count, but he still tried. It had only been in the past six months that she had finally started accepting his help. He wasn't sure what changed, but it gave him hope. He walked back over to the bed and laid down, muttering "You'll be mine Anko. Naruto doesn't deserve you. I do."

* * *

 **AN: As always, reviews are enjoyed. Let me know what you all think! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Party

**Chapter 4: The Party**

Karin, Sakura, and Anko had been running around the village, telling all their friends of the party at Training Ground 34 in the afternoon. However, the girls left the party invitation for Naruto to Sasuke.

"Look Naruto, you have to come to the party. We do this every year and this will be the first time everyone is there, including you. Hell, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi are going to be coming." Sasuke said as he sat on the couch, sipping a beer.

"I told you, I'm not going. I have no desire to attend a party that Anko will be attending." Naruto retorted back.

"You owe me, asshole. You were supposed to be my best man at the wedding, but your bitch ass fucking left the village for three years." Sasuke responded with quickly, "Besides, I don't even know if Anko is going to the party. Last I heard from Sakura, she's going to be working at that time, but you still owe me."

"You're a fucking prick, you know that Sasuke?" Naruto said, taking a sip of his beer. "Fine, I'll go. When is it and what's the attire?"

"Its today, in about 3 hours actually. As for attire, just wear what you want." Sasuke said, standing up and stretching. "You'd better come or else I'm coming down to the compound and lighting everything on fire."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Oh please, like your Fire jutsus could do anything against the seals I created."

Grinning, Sasuke merely walked to the front door, "Maybe not, but I've got more than enough chakra to try to overload them. See you in a few hours!" He waved as he walked out the door, humming softly to himself.

"Troublesome prick."

" **So, party huh?"** Kurama questioned, **"Sounds interesting."**

" _Yeah, apparently. I doubt it will be that fun."_ Naruto paused. _"You know she's going to be there."_

" **Yeah. And what are you gonna do when you see her? You two need to settle this. Did you gather nothing from my story about Mito and myself?"** Kurama asked, getting irritated that his container and friend was being so stubbornly stupid.

" _I got that you fell in love with a woman and made a promise out of that love. However, I'm not you Kurama. How am I supposed to forgive her for cheating on me with Kotetsu?"_ he laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

" **Personally, I don't think you need to forgive her for anything. I think you need to trust her and talk to her for once, like a fucking man you stubborn prick. Frankly, I don't think those pictures and letters were even real."** Kurama started going through all the memories that Naruto had of the pictures and letters he received.

" _They were in her handwriting Kurama. No one is capable of forging someone's handwriting or signature like that."_ he sighed and closed his eyes.

" **Practice makes perfect. Anyone can do anything if given enough time and motivation."**

" _Maybe, but I'm still not going to talk to her."_ he began remembering all the letters that were sent to him and how vile and venomous they sounded, clenching his fists in anger.

" **You're a damned fool."** Kurama growled before cutting off communication completely.

* * *

 **THREE HOURS LATER**

Naruto showed up to the party and noticed all of his friends there, even Kakashi, Tsunade and Jiraiya were there. He looked around as he walked up to Jiraiya and noticed Anko wasn't around. _"Good. She isn't here."_ "Heya Jiraiya!" Naruto greeted, as he held out a fist to the man.

Jiraiya was a taller, leaner man. He had white spiky hair, held together in a ponytail that went down to the middle of his back. Unlike most shinobi, he wore red gata sandals instead of the standard open-toed combat shoes. Upon his forehead, he had a headband with the kanji for 'oil' on it."Kiddo! Long time no see!" Jiraiya gave Naruto a fist bump and smiled. "How have things been? I heard you became a travelling Sannin for three years. Trying to take my place and write some books?"

Naruto scoffed, "As if I'd be able to write the stuff you did. How are you and Tsunade doing? You guys figure things out yet?"

Tsunade walked up to Jiraiya and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before giving Naruto a hug. This woman was just a little shorter than Jiraiya and had long, light blonde hair that she kept tied together in a double ponytail, one on each side of her shoulders. What was most remarkable about her, was her large breasts and the fact that she looked far younger than she was. "Yeah, we worked things out. As it turns out, he's a really loyal man once he's settled down." she wrapped her arms around one of his and leaned against him.

Smiling happily, "Yeah, I'm just thankful you finally gave me a chance, Tsunade."

"Just don't go sneaking away on me or being a pervert and I won't leave you." she replied.

"Don't need to. You give me enough inspiration to write more than enough Icha Icha." Jiraiya teased and flirted back.

"Whoa! Come on guys! I don't need to hear that shit!" Naruto began waving his hands in the air as he tried to bring the conversation to an end. "Let's keep things at least somewhat rated."

"He's right. We don't need visuals." commented Sasuke as he walked up to the trio. "Glad to see you could make it, Naruto."

"Yeah well, it's not like you gave me much of a choice." Naruto said, giving Sasuke a fistbump as well.

"Well, I'm going to go find Sakura. Somehow she disappeared on me with Karin and Hinata." he said, before walking away.

"Go have fun kiddo. We're going to go talk to Kakashi. Haven't seen that lazy haired bastard in awhile." Jiraiya said waving as he walked away, Tsunade walking beside him.

" _Does she even know she's your kid?"_ Naruto asked Kurama curiously.

" **Nope, and if you tell her, I swear I will kill us both."** Kurama threatened.

" _My, my. So violent. Didn't know you were a deadbeat dad."_ Naruto laughed as he walked over to the food table and bumped into a man with shaggy black hair. "Sorry about that..." Naruto looked to see who it was and got immediately angry, "Kotetsu." He clenched his fists tightly as he began remembering all the letters and pictures that he'd received about Anko and him. _"I'm going to kill you."_

" _ **Fuck."**_ Kurama thought. **"Keep it under control, kit."**

" _Easy for you to say."_

"Hey Naruto. You seen Anko around?" he asked curiously.

"No, I haven't and I hope I don't. I'm surprised you haven't seen her after everything she's said about you two." Naruto hissed out as he grabbed a plate and began putting food on it, his killer intent leaking out slowly.

" _Heh heh heh. He believes all of it. Excellent. He's such a moron."_ "She'll probably show up a little bit." he said, not realizing that she was already there.

"Let's hope she doesn't." Naruto replied as he finished grabbing his food, before leaving to mingle with some of his other friends, including Hinata.

Off in the distance, Sasuke and Sakura watched the exchange from a tree limb. "He's pissed." Sakura said.

"Rightfully so." Sasuke said, watching how Anko, who was henged as Hinata, was doing her best not to give her position away while she spoke with Naruto. "Give it a little bit of time and then you can let Anko know she can begin. I'll keep an eye on Kotetsu. He won't be leaving the training field tonight... at least not by himself."

"You know, you're right. We should have told Anko about the pictures." Sakura stated as she watched the Hinata-henged Anko.

"I told you we should have. But no, you said that was Naruto's place." Sasuke said sarcastically. "Maybe next time, you'll listen to me instead of your self-righteous inner voice."

Sakura growled and punched her husband in the arm. "Bite me, asshole."

"Not the time or the place." he retorted quickly.

Sakura did nothing but mutter as she jumped out of the tree and walked over to the group, knowing Sasuke was going to stay where he was so he could keep an eye on Kotetsu.

It had been a few hours since the party had started and everyone had had their fill of food. Sakura walked over to the Hinata-henged Anko and whispered in her ear, "Alright. Go for it."

Grinning sadistically, Hinata walked around until she saw Naruto standing near Shikamaru and Ino. She built up some chakra, went through a few hand signs, and clapped her hands together. _**"Earth Style: Earth Prison!"**_ She watched as everyone became alert to her chakra buildup and grinned as she saw Naruto get captured into the earth prison. She walked up to the captured blond and dropped her henge. "We need to talk Naruto."

Naruto, having already been angry from his previous encounter with Kotetsu merely glared at Anko. "Alright. You wanna talk?" He said, watching how everyone quickly backed off to the other side of the training field, as he spiked out his killer intent and flared his chakra. He coated his arms in some lightning to break out of the prison and quickly dissipated it, grabbing Anko by the throat. "Fine! Then lets, TALK!" he yelled out, throwing Anko to the side at the same time as he finished his statement and walked out of the dirt prison.

Anko rolled from the throw before righting herself quickly. She grinned happily. This was going to be a definite talk to remember. "Why did you leave me?" She asked as she rushed Naruto and began having taijutsu match with him, throwing punches and kicks, strikes and jabs, and everything in between.

"I left you because you left me. Why did you say no?" Naruto replied and asked as he grabbed Anko by the arm, throwing her into the air. He shunshined into the air behind her, grabbed her by the back of the shirt and prepared a spin to throw her to the ground, but was interrupted.

"Left you? I never fucking left you." Anko grabbed his wrists as he grabbed her, planting her feet against his legs and pushed forward, using the momentum to spin over his head behind him. "I said no, because I was scared." She used every ounce of strength she had and broke the hold he had on her and kicked him square in the back towards the ground. Naruto shot downwards like a rocket and slammed into the ground, leaving a nice sized crater. Landing softly, she stood at the edge of the crater knowing it wouldn't keep him down.

" **Kick his ass, Anko!"** Kurama cheered out from Naruto's mind.

" _You fucking traitor. Why are you on her side?"_ Naruto groaned as he pushed himself up from the crater he just made.

" **Because you're being an absolute fucking stubborn moron!"** Kurama laughed.

" _Whatever."_ he retorted back as he started listening to what Anko was saying as he stood back up slowly.

"I was scared of fucking things up, you asshole. I had never thought I would ever get married. I never thought someone would love me enough to want to stay with me their entire life. I never thought someone would love me enough to want to have fucking kids with me! That's what scared me most! What if I was a bad mother? What if I was a bad wife?! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt you. That's why I said no! That's why I wanted three days! Three fucking days, Naruto! It didn't even take me three days!" she yelled out, getting cut off as she was hit with a high pressured wind jutsu, slammed into a tree and then tied to it with wire.

Jumping out of the crater, Naruto was holding some wire in his hands. "You're right, you didn't take three days. It only took you one!"

"How the hell do you know that? You were gone the day after you proposed." Anko said, melding into the earth and popping up behind Naruto, kicking the back of his knees and bringing a kunai to his neck.

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto grabbed the hand that had the kunai in it and pushed it away from him, spinning around quickly and punching Anko in the face.

* * *

 **WITH SASUKE**

"Anko!" Kotetsu yelled out, about to rush onto the battlefield to help out Anko, but was stopped by a kunai to the throat.

"Don't fucking move, asshole." Sasuke said from behind the man. "Move and I'll slit your throat right here. I'll claim self-defense and nothing will happen to me. You though, sexual harassment in the form of photography? Please, make a move. I fucking dare you."

Kotetsu sweat dropped. How the hell did Sasuke know that the photos were forged and painted?

* * *

 **WITH NARUTO AND ANKO**

"How did I know? I knew because you moved on and I was given proof that you did. What I want to know is why? Why did you cheat on me and then proceed to mail me for three fucking years such hateful, hurtful, and completely vile letters?! And then you include fucking pictures?! Why?!" Naruto grabbed some senbon and threw them at her, pegging her in the shoulders and legs, only to realize that she had substituted herself with a broken tree branch. He walked over to the branch and stood there, flaring out his senses but unable to find Anko's chakra signature. Clapping his hands together, he sent chakra to the seals that were on his palms, before spreading them apart, revealing and red katana. "Come on Anko. Answer the damn question!"

Anko sprung up from the ground in front of him, wielding her own katana of black and orange, clashing blades with her blonde partner. "What the fuck are you talking about? I never cheated on you! And I certainly didn't mail you hurtful letters! Did you even read the hundreds of letters I mailed?" Anko asked, constantly slashing away with Naruto, each slash blocked, parried, or dodged.

Naruto blocked another strike from Anko and decided to step forward, the blades sliding against each other causing metal sparks until the hilts were touching. "You're damn fucking right I read the letters and each one made me more and more angry. Mix that with the fucking pictures you kept sending me and you wonder why I fucking don't want to be with you or talk to you after three fucking years."

Anko blinked and growled. "Are you fucking serious?! You really have that little trust and faith in me!" She put her sword away into its seal on her wrist, grabbed Naruto's sword with one hand and punched him as hard as she could with a chakra-enhanced punch sending him flying into one of the large trees. "You honestly think I would fucking cheat on you! Are you fucking kidding me!?" she began leaking out killer intent. "Two years I spend with you, more getting to know you and be with you, and you want to fucking question my LOYALTY?! Who the fuck would I be with if I wasn't with you, huh?! Iruka? Kakashi? Han?" she said as she took out some kunai and threw it at the blonde, before holding two fingers up and throwing out some chakra, "KAI!" The kunai's exploded right beside Naruto. "And what fucking pictures are you talking about, asshole?"

Naruto shunshined away from the charred location, his shirt and pants somewhat singed after that small ordeal. _"Damn, she's not even going all out against me and she's doing pretty damn good."_

" **She's kicking your ass kit. I'm proud of her."** Kurama grinned.

" _I'm holding back. I might be mad at her, but I don't want to hurt her."_ Naruto sighed inwardly. He knew he shouldn't be holding back against her, but he knew if he didn't then he would probably severely hurt her or put her into the hospital. She might have caused him plenty of pain and heartache, but she didn't deserve to be in the hospital for it.

" **Mmm. You still love her."** Kurama stated.

" _Shut up."_ The blonde Sannin stood there and glared at Anko. "Anyone can have a sudden change of heart at any point in time. As for who, why don't you try your boytoy Kotetsu! Matter of fact, why isn't he hear defending your slithering ass!"

"Kotetsu. Are you god damned serious? You think I would leave you for Kotetsu? Of all the people in Konoha, Kotetsu is the one you think I cheated on you with?!" Anko growled and shunshined to him and grabbed his shirt. "You know what. You have all this fucking bullshit against me. Fucking prove it. Where are the pictures? Where are these cruel fucking letters I sent you? Huh! Where, Naruto?!"

Naruto pushed the woman away from him and quickly channeled chakra into his wrists, grabbing a large black folder with Anko's name on it and threw the folder to her. "You want fucking proof! There's your proof, bitch!"

Anko caught the folder the blonde threw at her and opened it up. Almost a dozen pictures greeted her eyes. She moved those aside and went to the letters that were there and read a handful of them. "What the fuck." She wasn't sure what else to say. She was completely shocked by what she saw.

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 **AN: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Leave reviews/comments about what you think! Til next time!**


	5. Chapter 5: Kotetsu

**Chapter 5: Kotetsu**

Naruto pushed the woman away from him and quickly channeled chakra into his wrists, grabbing a large black folder with Anko's name on it and threw the folder to her. "You want fucking proof! There's your proof, bitch!"

Anko caught the folder the blonde threw at her and opened it up. Almost a dozen pictures greeted her eyes. She moved those aside and went to the letters that were there and read a handful of them. "What the fuck." She wasn't sure what else to say. She was completely shocked by what she saw.

Anko sat down and placed the folder on the ground and began looking at the pictures, frowning. In many pictures, it looked like her and Kotetsu were kissing, holding hands, being loving towards each other, and even going to dinner and drinking with each other. She picked up some other pictures and saw that they were of herself posing naked in Kotetsu's apartment, and somehow they were heavily accurate, down to the scars she had on her stomach and shoulders. She frowned as she picked up some of the most vulgar pictures, which showed her and Kotetsu sleeping together both sexually and just cuddling up at night. _"No wonder he thought I cheated on him."_ She picked up the pictures and held them to eye level, pushing chakra through them trying to see if there was some sort of hidden genjutsu within the paper. _"These are fake. I know they are!"_ She watched as nothing happened and frowned, not knowing what to do. "Naruto, I swear, I was never with Kotetsu. These pictures can't be real. I would never even pose like this! For you, maybe in the privacy of a bedroom, but never for a fucking picture!"

Naruto growled out and clenched his fists, before yelling at her, "How the fuck am I supposed to believe that! Huh? I tried everything I could think of to prove these pictures were fake! Nothing worked! Why should I fucking believe you just because you say they're fake?!"

Anko snapped back at him, getting more frustrated that this blonde man she loved could be so stubborn and stupid. "Because you need to trust me, you fucking asshole! I know with how things were for you growing up that your trust in people is easily broken, but if we want to make this work, you have to trust me! If we don't have trust, we don't have anything!" She exclaimed towards him. _"Why is he being so fucking dense?!"_

"What about the letters? I suppose you're going to suggest they're fake too!" Naruto asked, angry that she's not admitting to anything. "They are in your hand writing and the signature is yours exactly. I don't know much about forgery, but I'm pretty damn sure its hard to forge a fucking signature. Or are you going to say that the letters and signatures are fake too and say what, that Kotetsu fucking did it?" he implied, not realizing just how accurate he was.

Anko picked up one of the letters that she had felt was most disheartening.

 _Dear Naruto,_

 _For some time now, I've been thinking about your leaving and I have to admit, I'm glad you're gone. You see, when you left I learned that I never really loved you. You were just another object of lust that would serve me as a memory in the middle of the night. However, you did teach me what real love could be. I want you to know that I found someone else, Kotetsu. We've been together for six months now and I couldn't be happier. Thanks for nothing and everything._

 _Anko Mitarashi_

"I'm not sure. That is my handwriting, but I never wrote that. I wrote many letters and each one was more heartfelt than the last, but never would I ever write anything like that." Anko sighed, "To be honest with you Naruto, your leaving devastated me more than I could put into words. I could barely eat, I could barely sleep, I couldn't do anything. I was taken off of the active duty roster and placed into the reserves. Ibiki also told me to take a leave of absence until I could get my head back on straight. Its been a year and half since I've done any missions or worked at T&I." She put the letter down and looked at everything before her. "I can understand why you were mad. I'd be mad too if I thought you didn't want me anymore. I'm so sorry, Naruto."

It was at this moment Sasuke walked forward with Kotetsu being held hostage by a kunai to the neck. He quickly removed the kunai and kicked him forward, making the man fall to the ground. Leaning down, Sasuke picked up a picture. "For one, Kotetsu did do it. His chakra is fluctuating too much for him to not be guilty. Second off..." he trailed off as he channeled lightning so expertly into the paper, separating the paint from the paper leaving it blank. "All of them are fake. Not something you guys know about me, but I've always had an appreciation for handpainted art. If you look closely enough, you can see the minute brush strokes of a small paint brush. Plus if it were a real photo, it would take more than lightning chakra to separate all of it."

Kotetsu stood up and brushed off his jeans and glared at Naruto, "I have nothing to say."

Anko stood up, releasing excessive amount of killer intent. "I'm going to kill you Kotetsu. Why? Why do this to me? I thought you were my friend!" She released some chakra as a snake slid down her arm and slithered towards Kotetsu, the man noticing it but too scared to move as it bit him on the leg, the venom now beginning its course through his body. "Answer me!"

"I have nothing to say!" was all he repeated.

"Oh really? That's fine." Anko looked down at the snake as it slithered back up her arm before disappearing into her skin. "You know, funny thing about snakes. They have so many different types of venoms. The snake that just bit you now was a black taipan and its venom is quick acting. You can have a range of symptoms," she grinned sadistically, showing why she was one of the best under Ibiki at T&I, "But the ones I'm really hoping for is pain sensitivity and paralysis."

Kotetsu stared at Anko in shock as he could already feel his legs start to lock up. Try as he might, he couldn't move at all. Sasuke actually helped him lie down. "I'm not saying anything."

"Stubborn little prick aren't you?" Anko said as she brought out a senbon and took out a lighter and began heating it up. "Lets see how resilient you TRULY are, Ko-tet-su." she bit out each syllable of his name as she started poking him with the hot needle. "Anytime you're ready. Why did you do it?!"

Kotetsu sat there and grit his teeth through the pain, not wanting to give in.

"Oh, I should tell you, if you don't get the anti-venom in about three hours. You're probably going to die. Black taipans are nasty little creatures." Anko grinned as she kept stabbing him over and over.

"I did it because I loved you! I thought maybe if you weren't with Naruto, we could have a chance together. I know I could make you far happier than some title-chasing bitch." Kotetsu groaned out as he kept getting repeatedly stabbed by a hot needle. _"God this shit hurts!"_

"I was happy though. Legitimately happy. Why would you want me to lose that?!" Anko said as she stabbed him in the shoulder and took out another senbon heating that one up as well and began stabbing him all over again.

"I knew you could do better than Naruto. I mean, the guy has been nothing but trouble since day one. You don't need to be constantly watching your back because of his heritage or who he is. That's not safe for you." Kotetsu groaned, only getting the senbon stabbed into his other shoulder.

"You were my friend Kotetsu. I thought I could trust you." Anko thought for a minute. "Where did you put all my letters to Naruto and how were your paintings so accurate?"

"Your letters are hidden in my apartment in a drawer. And the paintings, well, we're shinobi. Stealth is kind of in our job description." he laid on the ground, the sheer pain from an increased sensitivity was really getting to him. He'd been trained to deal with massive amounts of pain before, but this was unbearable.

Naruto just watched on as Anko started sticking more and more heated senbons into the paralysed man as he started admitting to a multitide of activities that Naruto personally thought should be illegal. " _I was wrong about her. I should have trusted her more. I'm such an idiot."_

" **I told you to confront her about it. I told you that you could trust her."** Kurama grinned out, proving once again that the wisdom of an eon old demon should be one to consider.

" _Shut up."_ Naruto sighed, _"So how do I make all of this up to her? She can't possibly forgive me for leaving her for three years. I know I couldn't forgive me if I was her."_

" **Well, that's going to be something you and her have to talk about. I would start with an apology though. After that, you just have to take it one day at a time."** Kurama laid his head down on his paws and decided to take a nap.

" _Yeah, I do owe her an apology. I did mess up. I should have trusted her more."_ Naruto thought to himself. _"I'm such an idiot."_

Kakashi walked up to the trio, Sasuke having left after dropping off Kotetsu. "Kotetsu, as Rokudaime Hokage, I hereby place you under arrest." Kakashi snaps his fingers as two ANBU appear out of nowhere in leaf shunshins and placed chakra cuffs on his hands and chakra sealing tags over his body. "You are charged with multiple counts of forgery, sexual harassment, conduct unbecoming of a tokubetsu jonin, and intent to harm the shinobi corps of Konoha. Your trial begins tomorrow at noon." He turns to Anko, "Also, can you please give him the anti-venom? I'd rather not charge you with murder."

Grinning, Anko replies, "With pleasure." She pulls out a needle and vial and siphons some of the liquid into a syringe. Flicking the needle lightly she walks over to Kotetsu and finds the vein on the inside of his elbow and begins to insert the needle painfully slowly, so as to cause more pain as she injects the anti-venom.

"Thank you. Take him to the prison." Kakashi said as he walked over to the black folder and picks it up. "I'm going to need this for his trial. You don't mind, do you?" he asked Naruto.

"Not at all. Take it." was his only reply.

"Ja ne. I'm glad you two finally talked things through." Kakashi said as he walked away, ushering everyone else to leave the training field. "Come on, let's leave these two alone for awhile."

Though some were muttering, everyone else was smiling, even Sakura and Sasuke. "They'll be ok. It'll take some time, but they'll be ok." Sakura said, grabbing Sasuke's hand.

"Yeah, they'll be ok." Sasuke agreed as he entwined his fingers with Sakura's.

The blonde-haired Sannin sat there, unsure what to say. He wasn't sure if she was mad at him, still wanted him, or she wanted him to just leave. He watched as Anko sat down beside him, also not saying anything. The tension that filled the air was palpable and could be cut with a knife. He opened his mouth to say something before closing it again, not quite sure what to say.

Anko sat there beside Naruto and just looked at the grass. Kotetsu. He had been her friend as long as she could remember. They had gone on many missions together and been through some really rough times together. It was amazing to her that he could turn his back on her for his own sake. So she sat in silence, thinking about how to smooth things over with Naruto, but nothing came to mind. No amount of apologies will ease the false sense of betrayal that Kotetsu input into Naruto's mind.

" **Say something to her you blonde fool. Apologize."** Kurama stated bluntly, before cutting off connection to his friend.

Naruto sighed and laid down on the grass, staring at the sky as stars began to shine in the dimming sky. "Anko?"

Hearing her name being called from beside her snapped her out of her daze of thoughts. "Yes, Naruto?"

Closing his eyes, Naruto sighed again. "I'm sorry." he started off, "I'm sorry for hurting you as much as I have. I'm sorry for being a coward and not confronting you when I first received the pictures. I'm sorry for letting everything that happened cloud my judgement against you. I'm sorry for not trusting you as much as I should have. I know that what I did for three years is no excuse and I know that a mere apology won't fix anything, but I want you to know I'm sorry and that I still love you with everything I have." Naruto opened his eyes, having felt a weight move on top of him.

Sitting over Naruto, Anko smiled at her blonde idiot. "I forgive you." she leaned down and gave Naruto a soft kiss to his forehead and laid down on top of him, her ear against his chest so she could listen to his strong and steady heartbeat, something she was glad to have back as it put her at ease. "I'm not mad at you... well, maybe a little bit. You did abandon me for three years." she heard Naruto sigh, "But I understand why. You were so caught up in having thought you lost me, you threw everything else out the window. I can't blame you, I would have done the same thing. I'm not saying it will be easy, but I still want to be with you. You're the only one who's ever made me truly happy and actually care about a future. I don't ever want to lose that feeling." she laughed softly and smiled as she felt Naruto's arms wrap around her, holding her to him. "You know, since you never got any of my letters, you never got my answer." Looking up at him, she gave him a quick kiss, "My answer is yes, Naruto. It will always be yes, but I think we should go to Inoichi's relationship counseling. We have a lot to work on before we get married." She laid her head back down and listened to his heartbeat once more.

"You still want to marry me after me being gone for three years? Why?" Naruto asked incredulously. He still had the ring on him, he carried it with him always, right next to the storage scrolls he kept in his pouch on his leg.

"Because, you moronic blonde idiot, I love you. I always will." she replied as she cuddled into him.

Slowly, Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out a small black box and opened it, grabbing the ring from inside. The ring was pure silver with three gems in it. On one side there was a fox that was reaching out a paw towards the center and touching a circular amethyst gem, on the other side was a snake pushing a circular spessartite garnet, while in the middle was a circular gem of ametrine that looked like it combined both purple and orange. He grabbed Anko's left hand and placed it on her finger, "Anko, I will attend the relationship counseling course with you, but only if you're sure you want to marry me."

Lifting her hand, she saw the most beautiful ring in the world. The gems were of exquisite and pristine value and she boggled at how much it would have cost him. "Naruto, my answer will be yes every time. Just don't ever leave me like that again, at least not without telling me." She wrapped her arms around his waist and cuddled close to him, smiling happily that she finally had her blonde idiot back.

"I promise, my beautiful snake charmer." Naruto said, placing a kiss on the top of her head and holding her close, letting her rest against, much like old times. _"Things are right again. This is how it should be."_

" **Never give up on love. No matter how difficult. It's always worth it in the end."** Kurama said, giving his friend some age old wisdom.

" _So long as I have Anko, you're right. It will always be worth it."_ Naruto mused, smiling. He ran a hand through his fiance's hair, enjoying having her with him once again. "I love you, Anko Mitarashi, and I promise I will never leave you." The only response he got was a soft smile and a woman who cuddled up to him tighter.

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 **AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please, leave a review! Like I said in chapter one, this is not going to be a very long story, but its one I'm having a ton of fun with. :) Again, please review!**


	6. Chapter 6: Wedding

**Chapter 6: Wedding**

Naruto stood in front of the long, body length mirror in a tuxedo with nothing but a smile on his face. He couldn't believe he was getting married. Him, married. If you had asked him two years ago if he was going to get married, he'd have scoffed at you. For the sole reason that he thought the woman he loved didn't want him anymore, but all of that had changed after a party, fight, and lots of yelling... and then two years of couples counseling to get over all the negative pent up emotions due to his three year trip after an ill conceived selfish plan was put into place by someone he thought was a friend.

"Come on, Naruto. You're gonna be late and trust me, you don't want that." Sasuke said grinning. "And thanks for making me your best man." Sasuke held out a fist, hoping to get bumped by his best friend.

"Its mine and Anko's wedding. I can take as long as I want. I'm sure she is." He gave his friend a fist bump. "You know, its still rather scary. I mean, I'm marrying the Snake Charmer of Konoha, Anko. I'm getting married period. How'd you handle it?" Naruto asked curiously as he started walking out with his friend.

"Honestly, just breathe. It is scary, but believe me, it's well worth it. Especially after all the shit you two went through after Kotetsu pulled his fucking idiotic stunt, you guys need this. Besides... Tsunade would kill you if you didn't marry Anko after having a kid. That is if Sakura didn't kill you first." Sasuke grinned and walked with Naruto to the front of the ceremony and stood off to the side. "Though, kind of odd for you to perform your wedding ceremony in the cemetery."

Shrugging, Naruto smiled as he waited. "Maybe, but we both had wished that our parents could be part of the wedding ceremony." He looked off to the side and smiled at where the headstones were for his parents and not too far off, where Anko's parents were. "It was her idea honestly."

"Your parents would be proud of you Naruto. Minato and Kushina always wanted what was best for you." Kakashi spoke up as he stood in the center of the aisle. He had taken off his mask for this special occasion and smiled at his student. "I'm just glad Kotetsu wasn't able to ruin your relationship with Anko. You two are not only the pariahs of Konoha, but you also balance each other out." He reached out and ruffled Naruto's golden blonde hair, much like Minato did to him when he was a young student. _"I did it, Minato. I was able to keep my promise to you and look out for your son. Sorry it took so long."_ Almost as if on queue, the wind gently blew through Kakashi's silver hair, causing the man to smile again.

"You still have the rings, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, curiously.

"Stop worrying, will you? Of course I have them?" Sasuke patted his pocket gently. "As if Sakura would let me forget such an important thing. Her, Karin and Anko had such a blast planning this wedding out, I hadn't seen her have that much fun in forever.. well, not since the Konoha War at least." he gave his friend a pat on the back.

Kakashi cleared his throat and nodded down where a tent was set up at the end of the walkway to indicate that the proceedings were about to start.

Anko walked out wearing a blue and brown wedding dress that stopped just at her ankles and seemed a tad uncomfortable with it. _"I hate formal clothes. They're so stiff. I'm going to beat Sakura, Karin, and Hinata for convincing me to wear a stupid fucking wedding dress. I wanted to wear my trench coat, but noooooooo... it wasn't 'appropriate'."_ She smiled as she saw her husband to be. He looked amazing to her in the black tuxedo with the Uzumaki swirls on the sleeves. _"Anko Uzumaki... never thought I'd be able to say that name in years, but its finally happening."_ Behind her was Sakura, Karin, Hinata, and Ino in that order. Though Sakura was carrying a red-headed child with whiskers who was content with playing with her pink hair. _"Seems Kushinko is happy."_ As she walked by the last row, she gave a piercing glare to a bandaged man, "Say anything, and I will kill you. Civilian or not."

Kotetsu sighed and nodded as he whispered, "I'm sorry." Ever since everything came to light and his trial, he had lost everything. The only reason why he was even in attendance was because Naruto was a polite man with a large heart and allowed him to come, but only if he sat in the last row away from everyone else.

 **FLASHBACK**

The trial was a fairly quick proceeding and only lasted an hour. Kotetsu sighed as he stood there, revealing his entire thought process and plan to the Shinobi Council and Hokage. He had already watched Naruto and Anko give their statements to the Council and knew he had nothing left.

Kakashi sighed and deliberated with the Shinobi Council after hearing everything Kotetsu had said before speaking, "Kotetsu Hagane, for your crimes against two shinobi of Konoha, forgery, sexual harassment, conduct unbecoming of a tokubetsu jonin, and intent to harm and destabilize the shinobi corps of Konoha," Kakashi looked around at his council and was given a nod by Hiashi Hyuga, before looking down towards Naruto and Anko, "As Rokudaime Hokage, the council and I have come to a conclusion and verdict."

Kotetsu sat there and swallowed hard.

"You are hereby stripped of your rank of tokebetsu jonin and discharged from the shinobi corps immediately. You are also hereby stripped of your ability to use chakra via the permanent closing of all your chakra points, with the exception of your heart, by Hiashi Hyuga. Finally, you will be given a security seal that will restrict you from talking about anything related to Konoha and its security. If you do it will kill you instantly. You may remain in Konoha as a civilian, but you will never again be a shinobi. Do you have anything to say before your punishment is dealt?" Kakashi lowered his eyes to the man in front of him.

Kotetsu turned to look at the two behind him and was about to apologize but froze when he saw the piercing glare that Anko gave him and the disappointing look of Naruto. He sighed and closed his eyes before saying softly, "I'm sorry." He turned back to Kakashi and bowed his head. "I am ready." He closed his eyes as he watched Hiashi walk down towards him. _"I was so close... but so far."_

 **END FLASHBACK**

Naruto smiled to his bride as she walked up beside him and gave her hand a small squeeze, "You look beautiful Anko."

"Thanks, but the wedding dress feels stiff. I don't like it. They made me wear it." the purple-haired woman said, motioning to the women behind her.

Naruto gave a twisted smile, "So then why don't you take it off. I know you probably have something more Anko-like under that dress."

"You're damn straight I do, but they would kill me if I do." Anko grinned.

"So what, its your wedding. Wear what you feel comfortable in." Naruto smiled as he slipped her a smoke bomb.

"Our wedding, you fucking blonde jackass. Are you sure?" she asked and received a nod, before grinning. She threw the smoke bomb onto the ground and did a quick change out of the wedding dress she was wearing into something more her style. It wasn't really wedding material, but it was something that should be expected from her. As the smoke cleared, Anko was standing there in a tight fitting brown and black corset that lifted her breasts amply enough to give any man a heart attack and gave her figure a more tight look, while her black skirt was just reaching the upper thigh with slits in the side to give more visibility to her toned legs. She sighed in complete bliss, "That's so much better! Alright, lets get this show on the road!" Anko yelled out happily as she took Naruto's hand in hers. To her side she heard groans of disappointment before throwing her wedding dress at the noisy girls and stuck her tongue out at them.

Kakashi smiled at the antics of the pair in front of him. "Are you done now?" When he received a nod from both of them, he continued. "Friends and family, you come today to witness the bonding of not only clans, but of a man and woman who love each other fiercely. They have been through so many trials and tribulations, fights and arguments, going so far as to protecting each other during wartime and in peace." He paused for a moment as he smiled at everyone attending before continuing, "The two before me have decided to take the ultimate vow of love and teamwork so that they can be together always. Naruto, do you take Anko Mitarashi to be yours and yours alone, to comfort her and lift her up in times of darkness, to nurture and heal her in times of distress, to hold and love until your days come to end?"

Naruto smiled and nodded, "Always."

"Anko, do you take Naruto Uzumaki to be yours and yours alone, to comfort him and lift him up in times of darkness, to nurture and heal him in times of distress, to hold and love until your days come to end?" Kakashi smiled at the woman.

Anko returned the smile she was given by Naruto and Kakashi, "You damn well believe it. You're mine now." She said the last sentence almost as if it was a threat to anyone who might dare try to steal him from her and it had a hidden meaning for Naruto.

"Do either of you have anything to say to each other?" Kakashi asked, trying to not mess up the ceremony that Naruto had asked him to perform.

Anko shook her head, but Naruto turned towards Anko. "Anko, even though we have pushed through so many of our issues in the last couple years thanks to Inoichi and our friends, I still feel like I have so much to make up for. I promise to try to make up for that lost time and to be a great and supportive father and husband to you and our children. I just ask that you bear with me, my stubbornness, and my complete idiocy sometimes and work with me even when I'm being difficult and obnoxious. I will always come back home, no matter what mission I'm sent on. Just don't give up on me and I'll make everything up to you. I promise."

Anko smiled softly as tears threatened to fall from her eyes and just hugged Naruto tightly, just happy knowing that he loves her and her alone. All she could do is nod against his chest at his promise, accepting it and knowing that just because they are married it wouldn't be any easier, but at least she could take solace in knowing he'll always come home.

"Alright, Sasuke, if you will present the rings." Kakashi said as Sasuke pulled out the box with the rings in them and handed it to Naruto.

Opening the box, Naruto took out the ring he was to give Anko. It was the same ring he proposed to her with, only this time he had put a small seal in it that would allow him to teleport directly to her if she ever needed him, as well as the words, _"I will always love you."_ written on the inside. He slowly slipped the ring onto her finger.

Anko, on the other hand, smiled and took the ring she was to give him and looked at it. It was the best ring she could afford. It was made of pure silver that could channel chakra through it and was reinforced with seals done by Jiraiya so that no matter what kinds of jutsu Naruto used, it would never shatter. The shape of it was a snake all the way around with it pushing a ruby gem in the middle. The gem wasn't as big as the ones in her ring, but that was more because it was made for a male to wear. Slowly, she slid the ring onto his finger.

"Now, if no one has any issues with these two being together until the end, I name you Naruto and Anko Uzumaki. You may kiss your wife, Naruto." Kakashi said smiling as he put his hands into his pockets. _"What I would give to see your face again Minato, to see what kind of man your son has grown in to."_

Naruto smiled and pulled Anko close and gave her a soft, passionate kiss while everyone around them cheered. They kissed until they heard the crying of their one year old daughter and laughed as they pulled away, Anko reaching for their kid. "Seems Kushinko still doesn't like loud noises. I guess not all of our kids can be shinobi, huh?"

Naruto stepped forward and hugged his two favorite ladies, "She'll grow out of it, I'm sure. Even if she can't, we can always teach her how to run a shop or maybe get her instructed to be a ramen chef like Teuchi and Ayame."

"I'd like that Naruto. I'd like that a lot." Anko said, smiling as she gave her husband a kiss once more before looking towards her parents graves. _"I did it, Mom, Dad. I found my happiness. I found my partner. I hope you're proud of me."_

At the same time, Naruto looked over at his parents graves, _"I did it Mom and Dad. It took me awhile, but I finally got what I wanted. I am finally happy. Thanks for always believing in me. I know I never met you guys in person, but I love you and I'm glad you were my parents."_

" **So kit, you think about everything I said?"** Kurama asked as he watched his container hug his wife.

" _Yeah, and you're right. Life is too short and I should let things go. Love is definitely worth it."_ Naruto thought to his friend, smiling softly.

" **It's always worth it."** Kurama said smiling as he saw a reflection walk up beside him, showing Mito Uzumaki.

" _ **Come on Kurama dear. Leave the boy alone with his wife. You've much to catch me up on."**_ Mito said softly as she raised a hand to his maw, and like nothing Naruto has seen before, Kurama formed himself into a man and walked away with Mito, cutting off communication with him until he was done.

A slow, gentle breeze flowed through everyone's hair and over their bodies, as if the heaven and earth itself was blessing the wedding between a blonde haired man and purple haired woman. Everyone looked up to the sky and closed their eyes, enjoying the soft breeze as it blew on by. As the breeze ends slowly, Kakashi speaks up, "Alright, well if everyone is done here. There is food and drinks to be had inside the tent." He motions for Naruto and Anko to take the lead and as they do so, everyone else follows suit.

Once inside the tent, Naruto and Anko were pulled aside by Ino and her family to have pictures taken while everyone else got their food and enjoyed themselves. "You guys look amazing. Though I'm a little disappointed in seeing Anko without her wedding dress on." Ino said, giving the pair a hug.

"Yeah well, that thing was stiff and isn't really my style. I prefer the more... seductive kind of attire." Anko says, grinning playfully towards her now husband. "Makes things more fun."

Grinning in return, "Oh, I'm sure it is." she looks at Naruto who is staring at Anko with an almost predatory look in his eyes. "I'm glad you guys were able to work things out."

"You two were probably the hardest couple I've had counseling sessions with." Ino's father, Inoichi spoke up. "You seemed to have a pretty decent understanding what you wanted from each other, but your anger towards each other was quite significant. I'm glad I was able to help you get past it all."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I owe you everything Inoichi." He said before giving the man a handshake. "If you'll excuse us though, we were going to get something to eat. _"Man, we really have been through a lot. She was angry at me for a long time, not that I blame her. I'd be mad at me too."_ He keeps a smile on his face to hide his thoughts from Anko as they walk to the tables with the many platters of food. After they get their food and head up to the main table, Naruto pulls out Anko's seat and lets her sit down before sitting beside her and begins to idly chat with her while they eat.

As the meal comes to an end, Sakura nudges Sasuke who just groans out silently. _"I'm going to kill this man later. I hate doing speeches... even if I have practiced it."_ He glares at Sakura before standing up and grabbing his glass and getting everyone's attention. "I'd like to make a toast. To Naruto, the idiot who was scorned and proved his worth to the village through blood, sacrifice, tears and plenty of hard work and is now next in line to become Hokage. And to Anko, who despite her past has made a name for herself as the Snake Charmer of Konoha and found true love in her life. May you both be blessed with happy years to come and a happy family." He watched as everyone raised their glasses to his toast before he sat back down.

"You did good Sasuke. If we weren't babysitting Kushinko tonight, I'd give you a decent reward when we got home." Sakura teased, squeezing the mans thigh lightly.

"Don't tease me Sakura. I'll claim my reward tomorrow after we drop Kushinko back off with Naruto and Anko." Sasuke teases back.

As everyone finished eating, music started playing and Naruto and Anko got up and walked to the dance floor. As the groom and bride took the floor, the music changed to the song that Naruto had requested to play that he knew was Anko's and his favorite. Everyone stood around and watched as they had their first dance, almost everyone completely impressed that Naruto knew how to dance. As they were dancing, Naruto sighed, both in relief and contentment as he rested his forehead against Anko's. "Why the sigh, Naruto darling? Are you ok?" she asks curiously.

"Yeah, I was just thinking," he paused and gave her a small kiss, watching how everyone began coming to the dance floor with their partners and started dancing as well, "After everything we've been through... the war, my three year trip, Kotetsu, our plenty of fights after the fact... I'm finally relieved that we've made it to this point. I was scared and nervous that we would never make it. You were so angry with me for a long time during those counseling sessions that for awhile I thought you were just going to walk away. Even standing at the altar there in front of everyone, I was scared you wouldn't show or you would have second thoughts and say no. I wouldn't have blamed you in the slightest, but when you said I was yours and yours alone, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I'm just glad we made it. I don't know what I would have done if you had walked away. I'm finally truly happy and I'm glad its with you Anko." He smiled and brought a hand up to caress her cheek.

As Anko leaned into her husband's caress, she looked into his eyes, "You know, I was thinking that the entire time I was getting dressed. Our counseling sessions were not easy and you really did make me mad because you didn't understand why I was hurting so bad for days on end. They say time heals all wounds, but it doesn't. It just allows the wounds to scar over so you can handle more. When I was walking down that aisle in the wedding dress, I was so scared you were going to run away again, especially since you allowed Kotetsu to come. I thought you were going to walk away and let him win." she smiled and leaned against him, placing her head against his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat which only gave her courage to continue. "I was scared and nervous too even when I was standing up there. Then when you said I was yours always, it assured me that you weren't going anywhere and that made me confident. I know I would never leave you, I would have waited for you until the end of my life. Although we didn't get married before we had Kushinko, I wouldn't have traded our time together and the way our relationship worked out for anything. I love you Naruto, always." Anko smiled and kissed his chest gently.

Naruto smiles and responds, "I love you too, Anko. Always." He looks around and notices that everyone was lost in their own little world. "How about we get out of here while everyone is minding their own business?" he offered silently.

Anko smiled and nodded in agreement. "Let's try to not make it too obvious. I'm ready to get home so you can unwrap your present." She grins seductively as if she was now the predator and he her prey. "I already made plans with Sakura and Sasuke to watch Kushinko for the night. So we don't have to worry about anything else."

Grinning, Naruto took her and danced towards the opening of the tent, before opening the flap and leaving with Anko right behind him as they kept an eye on the tent to make sure no one followed them. They walked over to their parents graves and smiled down at them, both of them saying at the same time, "I love you Mom and Dad."

Naruto looked at Anko and offered his hand to her, "Lets go home." He smiled as Anko nodded and took his hand, giving one last look at the tent and smiled softly as no one followed them out. The two newlyweds leave the area in a yellow and purple flash, ready to start their lives together as a complete couple instead of as two people.

* * *

 **AN: Alright guys. That's it for this story. Like I said in Chapter 1, this story was not going to be very long. I am probably going to go back to writing Gathering of Beasts and finishing that. Maybe I'll start up a new story with a new pairing. I have another in mind, but I haven't decided yet.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the story! As always, leave a review! If you have any questions about any future stories I might have, feel free to PM me :)**


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